Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $361.10 and last traded at $361.10, with a volume of 4199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $357.07.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.29 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $339.65 and a 200 day moving average of $316.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,244 shares of company stock worth $19,288,505 in the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth $309,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth $229,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth $310,000. Finally, M&G Plc raised its stake in Morningstar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.